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Creativity: The Human Brain in the Age of Innovation
What is the nature of human creativity? What are the brain processes behind its mystique? What are the evolutionary roots of creativity? How does culture help shape individual creativity? The Human Brain in the Age of Innovation by Elkhonon Goldberg is arguably the first ever book to address these and other questions in a way that is both rigorous and engaging, demystifying human creativity for the general public. The synthesis of neuroscience and the humanities is a unique feature of the book, making it of interest to an unusually broad range of readership. Drawing on a number of cutting-edge discoveries from brain research as well as on his own insights as a neuroscientist and neuropsychologist, Goldberg integrates them with a wide-ranging discussion of history, culture, and evolution to arrive at an original, compelling, and at times provocative understanding of the nature of human creativity. To make his argument, Goldberg discusses the origins of language, the
nature of several neurological disorders, animal cognition, virtual reality, and even artificial intelligence. In the process, he takes the reader to different times and places, from antiquity to the future, and from Western Europe to South-East Asia. He makes bold predictions about the future directions of creativity and innovation in society, their multiple biological and cultural roots and expressions, about how they will shape society for generations to come, and even how they will change the ways the human brain develops and ages.
nature of several neurological disorders, animal cognition, virtual reality, and even artificial intelligence. In the process, he takes the reader to different times and places, from antiquity to the future, and from Western Europe to South-East Asia. He makes bold predictions about the future directions of creativity and innovation in society, their multiple biological and cultural roots and expressions, about how they will shape society for generations to come, and even how they will change the ways the human brain develops and ages.
296 pages, Hardcover
Published February 1, 2018
50 people are currently reading
400 people want to read
About the author
Elkhonon Goldberg
27 books42 followersBorn 1946, Elkhonon Goldberg is a neuropsychologist and cognitive neuroscientist known for his work in hemispheric specialization and the "novelty-routinization" theory.
Goldberg studied at Moscow State University with the great neuropsychologist Alexander Luria and moved to the United States in 1974. He is currently a Clinical Professor of Neurology at New York University School of Medicine, Diplomate of The American Board of Professional Psychology in Clinical Neuropsychology, and Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Advisor of SharpBrains, an online brain fitness centre. He offers post-doctoral training in Neuropsychology at Fielding Graduate University. Elkhonon Goldberg is the Founding Director of Luria Neuroscience Institute (LNI), an organization founded with the purpose of advancing research and disseminating knowledge about the brain and the mind. He describes himself as an atheist "with agnostic tendencies".
From Wikipedia
Goldberg studied at Moscow State University with the great neuropsychologist Alexander Luria and moved to the United States in 1974. He is currently a Clinical Professor of Neurology at New York University School of Medicine, Diplomate of The American Board of Professional Psychology in Clinical Neuropsychology, and Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Advisor of SharpBrains, an online brain fitness centre. He offers post-doctoral training in Neuropsychology at Fielding Graduate University. Elkhonon Goldberg is the Founding Director of Luria Neuroscience Institute (LNI), an organization founded with the purpose of advancing research and disseminating knowledge about the brain and the mind. He describes himself as an atheist "with agnostic tendencies".
From Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
April 16, 2019
4 – The Mermaid and the Lego Master
p.43 – Solutions of novel problems and the creation of novel content do not occur in a vacuum. New knowledge is built upon the old knowledge, yet it is new.
Even during the most conservative times in history, society changes, albeit often slowly. Scientific ideas evolve, and so do artistic forms. True, they are rooted in the past, but they are also novel.
Virtually without exception, consequentially creative individuals had acquired the mastery of their respective fields as they had already existed, before they were able to advance them further. This is reflected in the “ten-year rule” – which is how long it take, on the average (but with plenty of exceptions), for a member of the creative profession or a scientist to practice one’s field before he or she is able to make a truly innovative, consequential contribution.
p.44 – A cultural historian will point out El Greco’s and Goya’s influences on Picasso’s paintings. Likewise, a historian of science will tell you that that Darwin’s theory of natural selection was influenced by Malthus’ musings about population growth, and Einstein’s special relativity theory was influenced by Planck’s quantum mechanics. Revolutionary as the famous E = mc2 formula was, the concepts of mass and energy had existed before. And even the art of the flamboyant twentieth century iconoclast Salvador Dali strikes a distant resonance with the paintings of the fifteenth-century Hieronymus Bosch, whose whimsical, fantastic images prefigured surrealism. Any individual creative act can only be understood in the cultural context in which it occurs, a point so eloquently made by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in his landmark book Creativity: The Psychology of Discovery and invention.
Contrary to popular lore, a creative process is not a solitary process, even when the creative individual is temperamentally a loner and subjectively feels that it is a solitary endeavor. It is embedded in, and propelled by, the cultural milieu in which it occurs. Yet such an endeavour is not a mere replica of the past. The greatness of Picasso, Darwin, and Einstein lies in their creative gift of innovation, not in the mere mastery of their respective fields as they existed before.
p.43 – Solutions of novel problems and the creation of novel content do not occur in a vacuum. New knowledge is built upon the old knowledge, yet it is new.
Even during the most conservative times in history, society changes, albeit often slowly. Scientific ideas evolve, and so do artistic forms. True, they are rooted in the past, but they are also novel.
Virtually without exception, consequentially creative individuals had acquired the mastery of their respective fields as they had already existed, before they were able to advance them further. This is reflected in the “ten-year rule” – which is how long it take, on the average (but with plenty of exceptions), for a member of the creative profession or a scientist to practice one’s field before he or she is able to make a truly innovative, consequential contribution.
p.44 – A cultural historian will point out El Greco’s and Goya’s influences on Picasso’s paintings. Likewise, a historian of science will tell you that that Darwin’s theory of natural selection was influenced by Malthus’ musings about population growth, and Einstein’s special relativity theory was influenced by Planck’s quantum mechanics. Revolutionary as the famous E = mc2 formula was, the concepts of mass and energy had existed before. And even the art of the flamboyant twentieth century iconoclast Salvador Dali strikes a distant resonance with the paintings of the fifteenth-century Hieronymus Bosch, whose whimsical, fantastic images prefigured surrealism. Any individual creative act can only be understood in the cultural context in which it occurs, a point so eloquently made by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in his landmark book Creativity: The Psychology of Discovery and invention.
Contrary to popular lore, a creative process is not a solitary process, even when the creative individual is temperamentally a loner and subjectively feels that it is a solitary endeavor. It is embedded in, and propelled by, the cultural milieu in which it occurs. Yet such an endeavour is not a mere replica of the past. The greatness of Picasso, Darwin, and Einstein lies in their creative gift of innovation, not in the mere mastery of their respective fields as they existed before.
May 16, 2019
This book is interesting, thought-provoking and informative. Goldberg includes new scientific discoveries in brain research and his own experiences as a professional in the field (neuroscientist). He situates the discussion of each topic within history, culture, and evolution. Highly recommended and suitable to first year university students studying neuroscience, psychology, medicine or related fields.
Thank you to NetGalley, Elkhonon Goldberg and Oxford University Press for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to NetGalley, Elkhonon Goldberg and Oxford University Press for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
June 19, 2019
It’s my 16th year as an advertising creative, and I have to admit that I haven’t read a lot of books about creativity. Well, I humbly distance myself from them, because they’re mostly presented as “How-To’s”. Don’t get me know, I have nothing against “How-To’s” (I have a book on How To NOT kill a plant). But for subjects that I am most interested in, I’m more of the “Why Though?” kind of a guy. I want to understand why things work the way they do (or don’t work). I believe that through a true understanding of The Why, I foster a balanced and original insight that can then help me design my own set of how-to’s.
But then came this book. (Well, technically I had to bully someone to smuggle this from the US the moment I found out about it, ha ha ha.) For June’s #1bookamonth, it’s Creativity: The Human Brain in The Age of Innovation. Research published in 2018 by Oxford University, this study is the first of its kind and is unlike anything else in the world: linking creativity (novelty thinking) to brain physiology (brain biology) using the unique combination of neuroscience (the science of cognitive thinking) and neuropsychology (the study of brain behavior in relation to environment and society). In short: Why is the nature of human creativity the way it is—what are the brain processes behind its mystique, and how does culture help shape individual creativity?
That’s what author Elkhonon Goldberg, PhD, tries to answer. He is a professor, a neuropsychologist, and a cognitive neuroscientist whose body of work on hemispheric specialization (studying which hemisphere of the brain does what) ultimately created the so-called "novelty-routinization" theory. Which basically “debunks” the age old notion of ‘left brain = rational/analytical, right brain = emotional/creative’.
Early in the book, he prefaces: “Over the years, whenever the conversation about cognitive novelty arose, I was quizzed about creativity—frequently by colleagues and almost invariably by the members of the general public. I didn’t have much to say, other than voicing my general skepticism that creativity could be understood as a monolithic trait, that it could be linked to a narrow set of neural structures, or that it could be understood in strictly biological terms. Occasionally, I also shared my being generally unimpressed with the laboratory ‘creativity’ tests, which on a few occasions I had been asked to take, and found, at least from a subject’s perspective, to be contrived and of dubious relevance to real-life consequential creativity.”
Mismo. Which precisely is my problem with how how-to books on creativity cite their proofs.
As an ad man, experiencing the initial chapters already put out a lot of industry questions in my head, like: so does “creative spark” really happen? Is forcing the brain to “think big ideas” really how the brain works? Does letting ideas marinate first making sense? How should “originality” be treated as an idea criterion? What’s the truth about “inspirations” and do they really play a factor in creative thinking, anatomically speaking?
To make his arguments, the author takes the reader in a methodical, programmatic, and deliberate exposition of borrowed knowledges and brain disorder patient anecdotes in every chapter. Plus new concepts, like, saliency, hyper- and hypo-frontality, directed wandering, small world network, brain connectivity, myelin, novelty-routinization. All these will ultimately culminate in Chapter 10: The Creative Brain.
He begins by establishing the many creative revolutions throughout human evolution—Agricultural, Industrial, Scientific, we all know this—and that we are now entering yet another one, the Digital Revolution. Here, he sets the foundation of a society in active cognitive behavior (i.e., more creative) during these times, but why? Then comes the awesome stuff—he takes us inside the brain and into the often overlooked prefrontal cortex and the usually misunderstood hemispheres of the brain. And then, chapter by chapter, with brain physiology as his platform, he takes us through the Whys: Why does understanding language have anything to do with understanding the brain’s capacity for creative thinking? Why is pattern recognition connected to novel thinking? Why is memory directly linked to “the big idea”? Why is salience a key factor in novel and creative thinking? Why are society and culture important ingredients to cultivating individual creativity? Why is there a big pop culture fuss about dopamine and creativity – and is that even true to begin with? Why are human beings creative while the chimpanzees, whom we share 99% of our DNA with, are not?
I am now four chapters away until the finish line and, after the foundations had been set, the chapters are now slowly being skewed toward the brain and its behavior during brainstorming, in-depth thinking, and problem-solving a novel problem (thereby putting the brain in a situation requiring creativity.)
“Creativity continues to fascinate both scientists and general public, and the notion that the right hemisphere is ‘the seat of creativity’ has been around for some time. Yet, on closer examination, it turns out to be the product of popular lore more than rigorous research. In its origin, this notion is probably an off-shoot of an equally loose (and factually incorrect) popular notion that the right hemisphere is the ‘emotional’ hemisphere, as opposed to the ‘coldly rational’ left hemisphere (in fact, both hemispheres are involved in emotional control.) As we already concluded earlier, creativity is a very complex process ultimately involving the whole brain, as well as its interaction with culture, and linking it to any single brain structure is an oversimplification that flies in the face of serious science.”
But why? Why is this personally important for me to know this…and bakit ko sya pagaaksayahan ng panahon aralin kaysa mag-volleyball na lang or mag-Tinder? For those who know my fascinations, they know that immersing myself with a lot of non-advertising related books—medical history, world politics, foreign affairs, organizational leadership, global economics, cognitive psychology, sports science—is part of a bigger goal of me trying to arrive at new ways of doing The Work, through understanding the creative processes of people outside advertising: learning from problem-solving styles of the doctors, the athletes, the politicians, the economists, the farmers. And so the culminating chapters that deal with how the brain processes novelty are as much useful information to me as they are in themselves unputdownable literature. In the end, understanding the whys of the creative brain can help me design how-to processes for the creative mind. And new creative thinking could be our solution to old problems like poverty, sustainability, climate change, conflict resolution, healthcare, and improving the quality of life.
#Creativity
#ElkhononGoldberg
But then came this book. (Well, technically I had to bully someone to smuggle this from the US the moment I found out about it, ha ha ha.) For June’s #1bookamonth, it’s Creativity: The Human Brain in The Age of Innovation. Research published in 2018 by Oxford University, this study is the first of its kind and is unlike anything else in the world: linking creativity (novelty thinking) to brain physiology (brain biology) using the unique combination of neuroscience (the science of cognitive thinking) and neuropsychology (the study of brain behavior in relation to environment and society). In short: Why is the nature of human creativity the way it is—what are the brain processes behind its mystique, and how does culture help shape individual creativity?
That’s what author Elkhonon Goldberg, PhD, tries to answer. He is a professor, a neuropsychologist, and a cognitive neuroscientist whose body of work on hemispheric specialization (studying which hemisphere of the brain does what) ultimately created the so-called "novelty-routinization" theory. Which basically “debunks” the age old notion of ‘left brain = rational/analytical, right brain = emotional/creative’.
Early in the book, he prefaces: “Over the years, whenever the conversation about cognitive novelty arose, I was quizzed about creativity—frequently by colleagues and almost invariably by the members of the general public. I didn’t have much to say, other than voicing my general skepticism that creativity could be understood as a monolithic trait, that it could be linked to a narrow set of neural structures, or that it could be understood in strictly biological terms. Occasionally, I also shared my being generally unimpressed with the laboratory ‘creativity’ tests, which on a few occasions I had been asked to take, and found, at least from a subject’s perspective, to be contrived and of dubious relevance to real-life consequential creativity.”
Mismo. Which precisely is my problem with how how-to books on creativity cite their proofs.
As an ad man, experiencing the initial chapters already put out a lot of industry questions in my head, like: so does “creative spark” really happen? Is forcing the brain to “think big ideas” really how the brain works? Does letting ideas marinate first making sense? How should “originality” be treated as an idea criterion? What’s the truth about “inspirations” and do they really play a factor in creative thinking, anatomically speaking?
To make his arguments, the author takes the reader in a methodical, programmatic, and deliberate exposition of borrowed knowledges and brain disorder patient anecdotes in every chapter. Plus new concepts, like, saliency, hyper- and hypo-frontality, directed wandering, small world network, brain connectivity, myelin, novelty-routinization. All these will ultimately culminate in Chapter 10: The Creative Brain.
He begins by establishing the many creative revolutions throughout human evolution—Agricultural, Industrial, Scientific, we all know this—and that we are now entering yet another one, the Digital Revolution. Here, he sets the foundation of a society in active cognitive behavior (i.e., more creative) during these times, but why? Then comes the awesome stuff—he takes us inside the brain and into the often overlooked prefrontal cortex and the usually misunderstood hemispheres of the brain. And then, chapter by chapter, with brain physiology as his platform, he takes us through the Whys: Why does understanding language have anything to do with understanding the brain’s capacity for creative thinking? Why is pattern recognition connected to novel thinking? Why is memory directly linked to “the big idea”? Why is salience a key factor in novel and creative thinking? Why are society and culture important ingredients to cultivating individual creativity? Why is there a big pop culture fuss about dopamine and creativity – and is that even true to begin with? Why are human beings creative while the chimpanzees, whom we share 99% of our DNA with, are not?
I am now four chapters away until the finish line and, after the foundations had been set, the chapters are now slowly being skewed toward the brain and its behavior during brainstorming, in-depth thinking, and problem-solving a novel problem (thereby putting the brain in a situation requiring creativity.)
“Creativity continues to fascinate both scientists and general public, and the notion that the right hemisphere is ‘the seat of creativity’ has been around for some time. Yet, on closer examination, it turns out to be the product of popular lore more than rigorous research. In its origin, this notion is probably an off-shoot of an equally loose (and factually incorrect) popular notion that the right hemisphere is the ‘emotional’ hemisphere, as opposed to the ‘coldly rational’ left hemisphere (in fact, both hemispheres are involved in emotional control.) As we already concluded earlier, creativity is a very complex process ultimately involving the whole brain, as well as its interaction with culture, and linking it to any single brain structure is an oversimplification that flies in the face of serious science.”
But why? Why is this personally important for me to know this…and bakit ko sya pagaaksayahan ng panahon aralin kaysa mag-volleyball na lang or mag-Tinder? For those who know my fascinations, they know that immersing myself with a lot of non-advertising related books—medical history, world politics, foreign affairs, organizational leadership, global economics, cognitive psychology, sports science—is part of a bigger goal of me trying to arrive at new ways of doing The Work, through understanding the creative processes of people outside advertising: learning from problem-solving styles of the doctors, the athletes, the politicians, the economists, the farmers. And so the culminating chapters that deal with how the brain processes novelty are as much useful information to me as they are in themselves unputdownable literature. In the end, understanding the whys of the creative brain can help me design how-to processes for the creative mind. And new creative thinking could be our solution to old problems like poverty, sustainability, climate change, conflict resolution, healthcare, and improving the quality of life.
#Creativity
#ElkhononGoldberg
June 25, 2019
Elkhonon Goldberg is someone who has spent his entire life time studying the lateralization aspect of the brain.This makes him one of the world’s most leading authorities on the aspect of hemispherization.I read this book because, one of his earlier books The Wisdom Paradox was recommend by Nassim Taleb, my intellectual hero. It is the reason why I picked up his recent release. And, I am extremely happy that I have read it. While you find so many books discussing the psychological aspects of creativity, this book Creativity is one of those rare books which discusses the neurobiology, neuroanatomy and neurochemistry of the brain when involved in creativity. Let the reader be informed that this book is full of technical details, which are interesting nonetheless.
Creativity can be defined as producing something original and at the same time useful. He proves in this book that three main aspects of the brain are important for creativity. The first one is the right hemisphere, the second one is the prefrontal cortex, which occupies one third of the brain and is responsible for intelligence, impulse control, decision making and various other functions. The third one is the neurochemical dopamine, which can be called as the pleasure chemical or reward centre of the brain. All these three have far more important role to play in fuelling creativity than we have imagined.But that doesnt mean they are exclusively required for creativity. No, the brain need to co-ordinate efficiently with all the other regions of the brain to produce world-class creativity in an individual. He totally dismantles the localization theory of the brain( just to clarify).
He starts off the book by debunking certain neuromyths such as ,how this society gets it wrong into thinking that the right hemisphere is the creativity centre of the brain, and the left hemisphere is the logical or language hotspot.There mightt be some degree of truth to it, but that is not all. As the chapters pass by, he explains how the right hemisphere which was neglected by the neuroscientists for many decades as the ‘subdominant hemisphere’,and later on, thanks to certain neurological experiments, we got to know that the right hemisphere has far more important role to play in the seeking of novelty and creativity. He calls the right brain as ‘neuro orphan’.Though it may sound paradoxical or antithetical to the statement made earlier, it has a pivotal role to play in human creativity.
He proves the important roles that the right brain and the left brain has to play in certain functions by giving examples of certain neurological phenomena such as prosopognosia,apraxia, aphasia etc. If you take prosopognosia for instance, it occurs especially when right part of the brain is damaged. In case of aphasia or apraxias, it is the left brain which loses its functionality due to brain damage. Thereby, he shows how certain neurological conditions can reveal the functionalities of the brain.
The thesis of this entire book can be summed up as the Novelty-Routinization theory of the brain.Our right brain is always in search of novelty, while the left hemisphere prefers routine. He establishes this fact by expanding on the concepts of perservatory/exploratory behaviour. He also introduces the reader to concepts of Hypofrontality and Hyperfrontality, and tells the readers, how both are required to produce creative output. Oscillating between the states of Hypofrontality and Hyperfrontality, is what he calls as a state of bistability.And it is highlly conducive to creativity. Yes, it is agreed that hypofrontality is a phenomenon observed in various psychopatholgies such as addiction, psychosis and mood disorders. But he is not talking about such pathological conditions . He is talking about a kind of productive hypofrontality where by the brain reaches its creative peak.
Also, the book contains some interesting facts about the brains of great people such as Albert Einstein and Nikholoi Lenin. Both the brains, it seems had one feature in common. They had an extraordinarily thick corpus collosum,which is a structure that connects the left brain and the right brain. Apart from this, the book has other thought provoking facts about how dementia especially is on the decline in the recent years. All thanks to the changing cognitive habits and the cognitive reserves that we are building up as a generation, because of the heavy demands placed by the ever changing technologies.
If you are really the one who want to explore the neuro mechanics of creativity, then pick up this book. You won���t be disappointed.
Creativity can be defined as producing something original and at the same time useful. He proves in this book that three main aspects of the brain are important for creativity. The first one is the right hemisphere, the second one is the prefrontal cortex, which occupies one third of the brain and is responsible for intelligence, impulse control, decision making and various other functions. The third one is the neurochemical dopamine, which can be called as the pleasure chemical or reward centre of the brain. All these three have far more important role to play in fuelling creativity than we have imagined.But that doesnt mean they are exclusively required for creativity. No, the brain need to co-ordinate efficiently with all the other regions of the brain to produce world-class creativity in an individual. He totally dismantles the localization theory of the brain( just to clarify).
He starts off the book by debunking certain neuromyths such as ,how this society gets it wrong into thinking that the right hemisphere is the creativity centre of the brain, and the left hemisphere is the logical or language hotspot.There mightt be some degree of truth to it, but that is not all. As the chapters pass by, he explains how the right hemisphere which was neglected by the neuroscientists for many decades as the ‘subdominant hemisphere’,and later on, thanks to certain neurological experiments, we got to know that the right hemisphere has far more important role to play in the seeking of novelty and creativity. He calls the right brain as ‘neuro orphan’.Though it may sound paradoxical or antithetical to the statement made earlier, it has a pivotal role to play in human creativity.
He proves the important roles that the right brain and the left brain has to play in certain functions by giving examples of certain neurological phenomena such as prosopognosia,apraxia, aphasia etc. If you take prosopognosia for instance, it occurs especially when right part of the brain is damaged. In case of aphasia or apraxias, it is the left brain which loses its functionality due to brain damage. Thereby, he shows how certain neurological conditions can reveal the functionalities of the brain.
The thesis of this entire book can be summed up as the Novelty-Routinization theory of the brain.Our right brain is always in search of novelty, while the left hemisphere prefers routine. He establishes this fact by expanding on the concepts of perservatory/exploratory behaviour. He also introduces the reader to concepts of Hypofrontality and Hyperfrontality, and tells the readers, how both are required to produce creative output. Oscillating between the states of Hypofrontality and Hyperfrontality, is what he calls as a state of bistability.And it is highlly conducive to creativity. Yes, it is agreed that hypofrontality is a phenomenon observed in various psychopatholgies such as addiction, psychosis and mood disorders. But he is not talking about such pathological conditions . He is talking about a kind of productive hypofrontality where by the brain reaches its creative peak.
Also, the book contains some interesting facts about the brains of great people such as Albert Einstein and Nikholoi Lenin. Both the brains, it seems had one feature in common. They had an extraordinarily thick corpus collosum,which is a structure that connects the left brain and the right brain. Apart from this, the book has other thought provoking facts about how dementia especially is on the decline in the recent years. All thanks to the changing cognitive habits and the cognitive reserves that we are building up as a generation, because of the heavy demands placed by the ever changing technologies.
If you are really the one who want to explore the neuro mechanics of creativity, then pick up this book. You won���t be disappointed.
July 5, 2021
It definitely took me awhile to finish this book. It has core neuroscience terminologies, however, it wasn’t hard for me to comprehend.
The book was definitely delightful read, as I am curious about how the human brain functions?
The core of the book is the “creativity process” how does that happen? How does the brain deals with novelty? The role of the right and left-hemispheres, the prefrontal cortex and the other brain parts in the novel processing.
Deliberate wandering is the key. In order to understand how it happens, it takes you through the hyperfrontality and hypofrontality modes structure..
Also, how different networks (CEN,DMN, SN and ACC) participate in novel ideas processing? Besides, the role of the “small-world network” vs the “local neighborhood” in the both hemispheres..
Through numerous literature, I learned about left and right-handed differences, the salience mechanism, the effects of conformity on creativity.
The fascinating part for me is the talk about the “fusion generation”, the augmented reality, the
multiverse experience in the context of what to expect in the future? I am expecting the unexpected however it was beautifully put in a realistic neurosci-fi way..
The book was definitely delightful read, as I am curious about how the human brain functions?
The core of the book is the “creativity process” how does that happen? How does the brain deals with novelty? The role of the right and left-hemispheres, the prefrontal cortex and the other brain parts in the novel processing.
Deliberate wandering is the key. In order to understand how it happens, it takes you through the hyperfrontality and hypofrontality modes structure..
Also, how different networks (CEN,DMN, SN and ACC) participate in novel ideas processing? Besides, the role of the “small-world network” vs the “local neighborhood” in the both hemispheres..
Through numerous literature, I learned about left and right-handed differences, the salience mechanism, the effects of conformity on creativity.
The fascinating part for me is the talk about the “fusion generation”, the augmented reality, the
multiverse experience in the context of what to expect in the future? I am expecting the unexpected however it was beautifully put in a realistic neurosci-fi way..
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 19, 2022
This is leaning more towards academic than pop-science, despite author's personal anecdotes and musings. "Amusing academic" perhaps.
This (probably) won't add much if you have read any general text on creativity research before + it recaps author's own theory, so it might be more useful to just read some key papers of his. The gist is that creativity is complex process, so we probably won't be able to boil it down to a single algorithm or brain area, but the general method is to generate novelty (mind wandering, right hemispere-ish, small world networks) and then test the generated possibilities more systematically (left hemisphere-ish, more regular interconnected networks), rinse and repeat. With caveats and such, but generally like that.
The author is a neuroscientist/neuropsychologist, so he leans more heavily towards neuro evidence and tying things down to brain regions and networks, and is less enthused about psychology-flavoured creativity research (which is fair enough, tbh).
Bragging about knowing various famous old scientists gets a little old and uncool. Did we really need to see the autograph of Vygotsky's wife that he got on a his copy of Vygotsky's work? Did we?
This (probably) won't add much if you have read any general text on creativity research before + it recaps author's own theory, so it might be more useful to just read some key papers of his. The gist is that creativity is complex process, so we probably won't be able to boil it down to a single algorithm or brain area, but the general method is to generate novelty (mind wandering, right hemispere-ish, small world networks) and then test the generated possibilities more systematically (left hemisphere-ish, more regular interconnected networks), rinse and repeat. With caveats and such, but generally like that.
The author is a neuroscientist/neuropsychologist, so he leans more heavily towards neuro evidence and tying things down to brain regions and networks, and is less enthused about psychology-flavoured creativity research (which is fair enough, tbh).
Bragging about knowing various famous old scientists gets a little old and uncool. Did we really need to see the autograph of Vygotsky's wife that he got on a his copy of Vygotsky's work? Did we?
July 17, 2018
The amusing thing about this book was the author's admission that he originally wanted to call it "novelty" based on the theory he really wanted to present but was pressured to give it the more widely appealing title of "Creativity" by his publisher. It seemed as though Goldberg's main thrust for this book was to discuss his theory of why the right and left hemisphere's are divided as they are. According to Goldberg (and the many studies he cites), the left hemisphere is more concerned with "routinization" while the right hemisphere is dedicated to "novelty". He does a good job of backing up this theory with his deep knowledge of neurology and psychology and I believe this book is a meaningful contribution to the literature.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 17, 2022
I very very much enjoyed reading this book. It took me a while, partially because the authors writing style always what’s a little bit different than what I unconsciously expected and partially because my life just got crazy while reading it but it is truly a fantastic book. I took a creativity class while reading it and the hard neuroscience in this book was so far beyond what the class or what a lot of creativity research talks about. If you’re interested in creativity at all from a scientific perspective you’ll love this book. If you enjoy neuroscience more generally you’ll still very much like this book as it overviews many different systems and how they work together. Can’t recommend enough.
August 11, 2023
Reading this was very necessary during this time of mylife. IT finally healed my inner child, making me realize creativity needs a lot of things in order to be materialized.
I've always been told that I am really creative and I think I am, but that really put me a lot of pressure trying to figure out how i should've use all of that creativity. And the biggest mistake was believing I was born with it when in reality it comes from a perfect mix of hardwork, memory, right time&place and with being empathetic to the world sorrounding us.
Then if I might add, creativity came easily for me before because I was happier, freeier, braver, fearless. Suddenly, when everyone started noticing it became stiff and fake.
I've always been told that I am really creative and I think I am, but that really put me a lot of pressure trying to figure out how i should've use all of that creativity. And the biggest mistake was believing I was born with it when in reality it comes from a perfect mix of hardwork, memory, right time&place and with being empathetic to the world sorrounding us.
Then if I might add, creativity came easily for me before because I was happier, freeier, braver, fearless. Suddenly, when everyone started noticing it became stiff and fake.
July 25, 2022
22 luglio: giornata mondiale del cervello.
"La vita creativa del cervello" (Ponte alle Grazie, 2019), del ricercatore e divulgatore Elkhonon Goldberg, indaga le nuove tecnologie legate in particolare allo studio del cervello e alla creatività.
Il testo esplora alcune risposte date dalle neuroscienze, ma le integra con studi di antropologia, storia e psichiatria. Ciò che l’Autore si domanda è quanto peso abbiano la fisiologia e l’anatomia nella generazione della creatività. In questa indagine, non mancano i casi di personaggi storici come Einstein e Lenin, per cercare di capire che cosa abbiano avuto di particolare da un punto di vista scientifico.
"La vita creativa del cervello" (Ponte alle Grazie, 2019), del ricercatore e divulgatore Elkhonon Goldberg, indaga le nuove tecnologie legate in particolare allo studio del cervello e alla creatività.
Il testo esplora alcune risposte date dalle neuroscienze, ma le integra con studi di antropologia, storia e psichiatria. Ciò che l’Autore si domanda è quanto peso abbiano la fisiologia e l’anatomia nella generazione della creatività. In questa indagine, non mancano i casi di personaggi storici come Einstein e Lenin, per cercare di capire che cosa abbiano avuto di particolare da un punto di vista scientifico.
February 24, 2018
When it comes to reading books about the ways in which we can enhance our life with creativity, I'm always thrilled when there's some scientific research behind it to adds to my fascination and enjoyment.
Creativity: The Human Brain in the Age of Innovation was a good solid read, especially the way I read it: a chapter a so a week, which allowed me to think about each piece of research. A solid read for writers, artists, coaches, and therapists on how creativity in many ways enhances our lives.
Creativity: The Human Brain in the Age of Innovation was a good solid read, especially the way I read it: a chapter a so a week, which allowed me to think about each piece of research. A solid read for writers, artists, coaches, and therapists on how creativity in many ways enhances our lives.
September 3, 2020
Excelente, muy actualizado e informado libro sobre el funcionamiento del cerebro. El análisis se orienta sobre todo hacia el tratamiento de la novedad. NO es ningún manual sobre como ser más creativo ni nada que se le parezca ya que lo que hace básicamente es explicar como nuestro cerebro se las ve con tareas rutinarias y más que nada, las novedosas... pero es como si dijera: lo que natura non da, Salamanca non presta.
Por otro lado, si bien en algunos puntos está escrito de una manera muy didáctica e ilustrada, en otros pasajes se vuelve muy técnico.
Por otro lado, si bien en algunos puntos está escrito de una manera muy didáctica e ilustrada, en otros pasajes se vuelve muy técnico.
April 7, 2021
Este libro lo escribió un neuropsicólogo y neurocientífico cognitivo, ya se imaginarán todos los términos médicos, neurobiológicos, químicos y psicológicos que usó para explicar cómo nace la creatividad en el cerebro. Pero valió la pena. ¡El lado derecho de tu cerebro no es el creativo! ¡Todo depende de tu pasado y cómo lo conectas con el futuro! Entre otras revelaciones más. En la parte final hace una interesantísima reflexión sobre el uso de la tecnología doméstica y la creatividad en el cerebro.
April 12, 2020
Elocuencia y dominio puro, Goldberg presenta aquí ideas y hechos empíricos magistrales, de una disciplina prematura, pero no menos, puntera dentro de las neurociencias cognitivas. Agradable experiencia. Me llamo la atención, al final, lo que se propone las neurociencias interculturales y la creatividad en torno a las inteligencias artificiales, lo cual, me impele a investigar más. Espero su siguiente libro.
February 26, 2025
Interesting to learn how brain works in general. Not sure if creativity is being glorified de nos jours. It’s not something mysterious but an alternation between hyper- and hypofrontality. Anyway, just as my teacher said, when you feel stuck, take a walk and have some coffee.
October 13, 2025
Heavy on the brain functions, interesting to tease out some of the specifics. If you’re looking for *how* to be creative, this is not that. But there are takeaways to think about, such as how can one move between hyper- and hypo-frontality? (Some answers for me: writing Morning Pages, long walks,)
February 24, 2019
A beautiful book that encapsulates the current state of scientific literature with regards to what we know and don't know about creativity, salience, etc.
February 21, 2020
some intriguing original ideas, quite unbalanced, some boring uninteresting parts
April 6, 2020
Interesante
December 29, 2020
Simplemente me encantó.
Goldberg presenta en este libro gran parte de sus reflexiones en neurociencias de la Innovación y la creatividad, respaldadas en la evidencia científica. Asimismo, refuta con determinación aquellas teorías que se sumergen ciegamente en lo neurobiógico, prescindiendo del contexto en que nos movemos como seres sociales. El autor propende a la investigación transcultural, reformadora y cambiante, en un mundo globalizado que se acelera cada día y que muta hacia el multiverso.
Goldberg presenta en este libro gran parte de sus reflexiones en neurociencias de la Innovación y la creatividad, respaldadas en la evidencia científica. Asimismo, refuta con determinación aquellas teorías que se sumergen ciegamente en lo neurobiógico, prescindiendo del contexto en que nos movemos como seres sociales. El autor propende a la investigación transcultural, reformadora y cambiante, en un mundo globalizado que se acelera cada día y que muta hacia el multiverso.
February 7, 2018
A creative book on creativity! I truly loved this book and look forward to rereading it for a deeper dive.
I feel like I have read way too many books that have come out recently on creativity and they weren't all that creative: this is NOT that book! Goldberg is a neuropsychologist but writes with a very gentle and understandable voice. He reminds me of a mix of Irvin Yalom and Oliver Sacks: a blend of science and stories with wise insights so that even the everyday reader can understand.
This is a book that needs to be kept close by for those days when you crave comfort and new ideas. This is a book that should be read with a notebook nearby: I had a hard time not stopping after every few pages to write down a new understanding or turn of phrase. I'm also going back to purchase all of Goldberg's previous work and I'm sorry I didn't catch them sooner!
I feel like I have read way too many books that have come out recently on creativity and they weren't all that creative: this is NOT that book! Goldberg is a neuropsychologist but writes with a very gentle and understandable voice. He reminds me of a mix of Irvin Yalom and Oliver Sacks: a blend of science and stories with wise insights so that even the everyday reader can understand.
This is a book that needs to be kept close by for those days when you crave comfort and new ideas. This is a book that should be read with a notebook nearby: I had a hard time not stopping after every few pages to write down a new understanding or turn of phrase. I'm also going back to purchase all of Goldberg's previous work and I'm sorry I didn't catch them sooner!
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